


Vongola Stork Delivery

by Lumelle



Category: Katekyou Hitman Reborn!
Genre: Accidental Baby Acquisition, Crack Treated Seriously, Fluff and Humor, Future Fic, Mafia Boss Sawada Tsunayoshi, Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-02
Updated: 2016-12-02
Packaged: 2018-09-06 02:14:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,367
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8730853
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lumelle/pseuds/Lumelle
Summary: Squalo receives a strange delivery at the Varia Mansion, strange enough that it requires attention from his lovers. And Don Vongola himself.Now they just have to hope Hibari doesn't react too badly to the idea of becoming a father.





	

In Lussuria's defense, it had been a very long day.

Not that most days in Varia mansion weren't demanding in one way or another, mostly due to his lovely coworkers being their charming selves. Today, however, had been even worse than usual, enough so to even tax his usually cheerful demeanour. Xanxus was making Squalo run to and fro with some silly little thing or another, which meant someone else had to fill in on Squalo's usual duty of keeping everyone from killing each other, and as the unofficial den mother this fell on Lussuria. Not that he minded such things, not really, but after he had just spent more than an hour keeping Levi from trying to actually kill Fran over yet another snarky comment (really now Levi darling do you actually want to explain to Mukuro that we broke the illusionist he loaned us), which had come on the heels of having to deal with Belphegor's report of a job gone unusually messy (what do you mean you broke three skulls by accident?), he really had very little patience left for anything unnecessary.

Which meant that, when one of his lieutenants came to him saying there was something strange at the door, he very nearly told her to just get rid of whatever it was with extreme prejudice.

Luckily he thought better of it, particularly since she was one of his more levelheaded subordinates and it was rather unusual to see her so rattled. Whatever was disturbing the so-called peace of the mansion was probably quite extraordinary indeed, and clearly he was the only officer currently available with everyone else being currently either busy or sulking. So, with a dramatic sigh, he rose up from where he had finally managed to sit down and followed her.

Very few people actually used the front door of the mansion for, well, anything. Those who lived there usually made their way through any of the numerous other entrances, wherever was closest to the part they wanted to reach, and it wasn't like they had a lot of casual visitors. Anyone interested in hiring them generally knew better than to come anywhere near them. Therefore, as Lussuria finally reached the front door and noticed his lieutenant stepping to the side with a rather strange look on her face, he was torn between actually opening the door and turning right back.

Leaving wasn't likely to solve whatever problem awaited him, though, and really he didn't want to cause dearest Squalo any more headaches. And, well, it wasn't like he was actually afraid of anything, right? So, clearly the only realistic option was to open the door and step out.

He very nearly ran into the visitor.

Coming to a halt, Lussuria stared at the lump in front of him. It was feathers, he was pretty sure. Shining, luminous feathers roughly at head height. Then, looking up, he found the feathers going up to cover a long, strong neck, terminating in a small round head too far up for him to reach. The beak was impressive as well, he thought with some form of faint amusement bordering on hysteria. It would have probably been very easy to skewer someone with a beak that long and sharp. Really, even Squalo would have probably been impressed by such a weapon.

Then, he saw the bundle hanging from the beak.

"Ah." Well, this was unexpected. "Can I help you?"

The stork — it really was a stork, he thought, hysteric giggles threatening to bubble up from the back of his throat, a huge stork with golden feathers — stepped back down the stairs to the front door until their eyes were more or less level. With exaggerated care it leaned forward to look him in the eye, then extended a wing. Something shook free from between the gigantic feathers, and Lussuria caught it by instinct more than thought. He wasn't entirely sure he was capable of proper consideration at the moment.

The envelope looked old, but the ink on it was clear and fresh, dark enough he almost feared smearing it with his fingers. The seal was that of Vongola, the official crest used in business matters, and though it lacked the dying will flame seal of the don something told Lussuria that this was at least as official as anything coming from Tsunayoshi. Not that he was going to open the envelope, of course, seeing how it wasn't addressed to him.

"Squalo?" He squinted at the name on the envelope, then looked up at the stork. "Ah, yes, he is here, but I think he might be busy at the moment. Do you want me to go get him?" Why was he talking with a bird? A very intimidating-looking bird, mind, but still a bird. It wasn't even talking back.

The stork seemed to consider this proposition for a moment, before giving him a thoughtful gaze. Lussuria had the uncomfortable feeling he was being evaluated for something very important that he wasn't entirely aware of. Then, apparently coming to some conclusion or another, the stork inclined its head, then lifted its beak. Instead of an envelope, Lussuria now found himself catching the small bundle hanging there. It was, he realised with a mixture of horror and delight, squirming.

Tucking the envelope hastily into a pocket, he looked down at the obviously more important package in his arms. It was, without a doubt, a child. A human child at that, with a scrunched up little face peeking out from beneath the folds of the soft blanket. The child seemed to be asleep, which was a small blessing, though he wasn't entirely sure how long that was going to last.

Lussuria looked up, hoping to find some further answers at least, only to find the bird gone. Glancing up to the sky he saw no sign of a retreating golden figure. It was as though their visitor had simply vanished in the moment he looked away.

Well. Wasn't this a pickle.

"Sir?" He heard the lieutenant's voice from the doorway, unusually hesitant. "What should we do?"

"Well, isn't it obvious?" It wasn't, not really, but he was damn well at least going to pretend. "Find out where our dearest Squalo is at the moment. I do believe we have a very important package to deliver to him."

It had been a long day that didn't seem to be ending any time soon, but somehow, Lussuria found his steps being a bit lighter as he hurried back into the mansion.

*

Squalo wanted to go home.

This was, of course, not a sentiment he could share with any of his coworkers. Those who wouldn't have interpreted it as a sign of weakness — so, essentially, Lussuria, possibly Mammon if the moon was just right — would have dragged him into an uncomfortable discussion about what exactly constituted home, and wasn't he already there? Which, no. It was bad enough he'd managed to come to terms with his shifting priorities for himself, accepting the fact that the Varia mansion was not what he thought of when he thought of home anymore. It wasn't something he was going to start explaining to anyone else.

He suspected Dino and Kyouya knew already, but they weren't likely to push him to say it aloud. They knew him better than that by now.

Secretly or not, though, Squalo wanted home. Work had been even more annoying than usual lately, with everyone's tempers flaring as they grew frustrated without a lot of action, and Squalo had to bear the brunt of it trying to keep things from reaching a boiling point. He needed a break, more so than he had in a while, a break of getting away from his insane coworkers and the mansion where he could never truly relax and back to the people he actually gave half a fuck about. It had been far too long since he'd had that, anyway. Between his work and Kyouya's and some minor crises with the Cavallone, it had been months since the three of them had last been in the same place for any significant amount of time, and even that had been just appearing at the same function where they couldn't exactly be as free as he would have liked. If this continued much longer, Squalo wasn't going to be held responsible for what he might do.

Kyouya and Dino had ruined him, he concluded, fuming as he marched down the corridor after yet another useless shouting match with Xanxus over something utterly insignificant. There had been a time when all this had been the norm, and he hadn't even thought about getting away from the mess that were their daily lives, because it wasn't like he had much of an alternative. Except now there was another choice, a place and people that made him actually feel at ease, and the daily grind had started to feel all the more oppressive for the momentary respite he could sometimes steal for himself.

The two were lucky he liked them or he would have had to kill them for ruining him so.

Regardless of how unfortunate his new wish for a home was, it was certainly torturing him now, offering the sweet dream of potential relief that only served to throw the current misery of his life into even sharper contrast as the days went on without end. Each day seemed worse than the last, and this current one was the worst of all, little annoyances combining with the constant ire of Xanxus to very nearly push him over the edge. One more thing, just one more thing and he would walk right out of the place, possibly leaving a few corpses in his wake.

Turning a corner he nearly ran into Lussuria, and the day wasn't looking any better.

"Squ-chan!" Lussuria's face seemed to brighten in that stupid way of his, and Squalo turned to go right back. Even Xanxus was better than whatever insanity Lussuria had concocted. "No, wait, Squ-chan, don't go! I was looking for you, it's important!"

Squalo paused, then turned back with a sigh. "It better be fucking important," he ground out. "And by that I mean someone had better be dead for me to be interested."

"Oh, but it's just the opposite!" Then, before Squalo could ask what that bit of idiocy was supposed to mean, Lussuria was thrusting something towards him. Which was generally a bad sign, and now involved some kind of a bundle Lussuria was carrying. It was clothing? Maybe? Something like that. Except when Squalo caught it without thinking, it seemed surprisingly solid under the first layer of fabric.

Also, it was moving.

"Voooii!" he yelled, freezing as the bundle shifted in his arms. "What the fuck, Lussuria?"

"Shhh, not so loud! You'll scare her." With zero concern for personal space or the threat of Squalo's sword right there, Lussuria stepped closer, reaching to shift the folds of the fabric. Squalo stared as they revealed a small, vaguely human face. "Isn't she just adorable?"

Squalo very nearly yelled again, but managed to hold himself back just in time. "What the fuck?" he hissed instead, not sure if he wanted to drop the child or toss it at Lussuria. Torn between the two, he stayed very still instead. "Don't tell me you've gotten into kidnapping now?" That was not something he wanted to explain to, well, anyone. Besides, he rather suspected that if that were the case, their sorry excuse of a don would finally decide to stick his nose into Varia business, and that was not going to end well for anyone.

"Oh, nothing like that." Lussuria grinned broadly, which was rarely a good sign, and handed him something else. Squalo very nearly protested that he couldn't exactly catch anything else when he was already holding what looked very much like a baby, but really, the child was small enough that with a small shift he managed to hold her comfortably on one arm, reaching for the object with his free hand. It was a letter, he noted, closed with the Vongola seal and addressed to him. "Someone brought a delivery to you, that's all."

"You've got to be shitting me." Someone delivering a letter for him, maybe, though it wasn't exactly like he was any kind of pen pal material. However, something in the way Lussuria said it, as well as the way he kept grinning in that idiotic way of his, hinted that this wasn't just about the letter. "Who the fuck would send me a baby?" And why? There was only one logical explanation, except he was damn sure he had never been close enough to anyone with a vagina to even theoretically be a father, never mind the fact that he had been together with Dino and Kyouya for years now and too busy for any random dalliances even before that. For all his problems and bad habits, bastards were something he had never been too worried about.

"Well, I would suggest that you open the letter, just in case it might offer us some explanation." Lussuria tilted his head, still grinning. "And maybe we should get out of the hallway, too? Wouldn't want anyone to startle the little one just yet, after all."

Squalo wasn't entirely sure this wasn't some sort of a very weird dream, but really, starting to question things probably would have made it even worse. Besides, Lussuria seemed to have at least some inkling of what he was doing, and after quite a while of having to do everything himself Squalo was willing to concede the lead to him at least until he figured out what the fuck was going on. As such, he followed Lussuria along the corridor, occasionally glancing down at the little creature at his arm. This was a joke, it had to be a joke, but he wasn't sure what the punchline was, exactly.

The child shifted, a soft strand of golden hair peeking out from underneath the blanket, and Squalo swallowed. He'd never imagined such things, had never allowed himself to be so foolish, but if he had ever spared a thought to the possibility…

No. This wasn't the time for that. He had to figure out who the kid was and what the fuck he was going to do about it.

It said something about how distracted he was that it took him a moment to realise Lussuria had actually brought them somewhere. Looking around, he found himself in Lussuria's rooms. It was the best choice at the moment, really. His own rooms were further away, and the only people who might have dared to intrude in the rooms of an officer were the other officers, who were hopefully all too busy to be sticking their noses where they didn't belong. At Lussuria's beckoning, Squalo sat down, then stared at the envelope in his hand.

"You know, it would probably help if you opened it." Lussuria was all but fluttering around, still grinning like a madman. Which, fair enough.

"You do it." Squalo tossed the envelope back at him. "You've got two hands free, don't you?"

Lussuria tsked but caught the envelope easily enough, breaking the seal and opening it. He let the envelope flutter down in favour of the letter inside, holding it primly in his fingers. Apparently taking Squalo's silence for the approval it was, he drew a deep breath and started to read.

"Squalo Superbi, it is our great delight to send you this announcement of the birth of your daughter, born on the date of this letter. She has been delivered along with this letter to the Varia mansion to be left in your care. Your partners have likewise been informed of this delivery. We wish you and your family all the happiness with your new bundle of joy. Best regards, the Vongola Stork Delivery."

"You're fucking with me." It was all Squalo could actually say, staring at Lussuria as he stopped reading. "That can't be what it says."

"Oh, but it is." Lussuria smiled like the fucking cat that got the cream, handing him the letter. Squalo skimmed it over, finding the message to be exactly what Lussuria had read out. Fuck. "Congratulations, Squ-chan!"

"What the fuck even is the Vongola Stork Delivery?" This was a joke, this had to be. "If this is some kind of a joke —"

"I've heard about it, actually." And what do you know, Lussuria was apparently going to be useful for once. "To be fair I did think it was just a myth, but I've definitely heard about it. Apparently sometimes, a child will be delivered to someone in the family if they can't otherwise get an heir. Only to very strong people who are important to the family, though, which would certainly suit you! I'd have to ask around for more information, but it's definitely a thing."

"So what you're saying is this is an actual fucking baby." Squalo's voice sounded weird even in his own ears. "My baby."

"Not only yours, though." Lussuria reached to brush a fingertip against the golden strands of hair on the baby's forehead. For some reason Squalo had to resist the urge to draw away from him, which was ridiculous. Out of all his insane coworkers Lussuria was probably the least likely to harm a baby for no reason. "The letter mentioned it, right? Your partners have been informed."

"That's impossible, though." Even though that was definitely Dino's hair, and as he looked closer at the child the face did resemble Kyouya's a great deal, enough so that Squalo had to swallow around a lump in his throat. Not that he was moved or anything, of course, that would have been absurd.

"Any more impossible than a stork delivering a child to your doorstep?"

"I've only got your fucking word for that, though. And it could still be a trick of some sort." Not that he could imagine what anyone would gain from such a scheme, but stranger things had happened. Besides, just about anything was a better option than his being suddenly a father.

"Or it could be that you've been given a wonderful gift." Lussuria's smile was unusually soft. "If that's the case, what are you going to do?"

He was going to protest at how that couldn't be true, and even if it was he couldn't do anything, it was impossible for him to accept such a thing and mixing in Dino and Kyouya was hardly going to make things any easier. Kyouya did not want to be tied down, after all, and Dino was a don and could not accept an heir who was not a blood relation, and Squalo himself had no time for foolishness like this, and all that was besides the point that this was probably just some sort of a twisted prank in the end and —

Before he got any of his myriad protests out, the baby shifted, slowly opening her eyes. Squalo swallowed as he stared into the pale eyes that mirrored his own perfectly. The child looked at him, blinking sleepily, one little finger in the corner of her mouth. Then her face scrunched up in dismay, and with a dawning sense of dread Squalo knew exactly what to expect a fraction of a second before she drew a deep breath.

"VOOOOOIIII!"

*

When Tsuna's phone rang, he very nearly just tossed it at the nearest wall.

Well, okay, he wouldn't have actually done such a thing, especially since this was his personal phone and not one of the work lines that were filling his life with more chaos and responsibilities every day. That, and for all the bad influences in his life, he had this far managed to avoid making the violent approach to problem solving his default solution. As such, while he did briefly fantasise about doing just that, especially since it had the audacity to ring just as he was about to declare himself done for the day, he instead drew a deep breath and picked up the phone, looking at the name on the screen.

He blinked in surprise as he saw the name, then very quickly accepted the call before the caller changed his mind, bringing the phone to his ear. "Hibari-san?"

Reborn perked up where he was currently drinking coffee in an armchair in the corner, not that Tsuna could exactly blame him. Even after years of being vaguely associated, Tsuna could count the times Hibari had actually contacted him out of his own volition on the fingers of one hand.

"Sawada Tsunayoshi." As usual, Hibari's voice gave nothing away. "What do you know about the Vongola Stork Delivery?"

"I — what?" Tsuna blinked. Surely he had heard wrong somehow. "Vongola stork what?"

If Reborn had perked up before, now he very nearly shot to Tsuna's side, climbing up to the desk. He wasn't as small as he had been when they first met, having grown quite a bit since the curse had been lifted, but he still seemed to be perfectly comfortable with sitting on the edge of Tsuna's desk like a little kid. "Put it on speaker."

"Ah, right. Hibari-san, Reborn wants me to put the call on speaker."

"That's fine. He is probably going to be more useful than you are, anyway."

Tsuna was not even going to protest, knowing he had very little to say. Turning on the speaker function, he set the phone down on the desk. "So, ah. Could you repeat your question, please?"

"What do you know about the Vongola Stork Delivery?" So he had heard it right the first time. Hibari then went on to repeat the words in Italian before switching back to Japanese. "I figured you of all people should be able to tell me something."

"Where did you hear about that?" Reborn leaned closer to the phone. "Even among the Vongola only very few people are aware of the story."

"I just received a message signed with the name, delivered by what appeared to be a giant golden stork." And despite the utter ridiculousness of what he said, Hibari's voice was still perfectly level. "I was merely wondering if it was some sort of a trick or if there was some truth to the matter."

"Well, it has been a while since it made an appearance, which is why few people know about it anymore, but it is most certainly a real thing." Reborn nodded thoughtfully. "The story goes that the stork delivers children to people who are important to the family but can't have any for some reason or another. It goes all back to the first generation of Vongola, where apparently some of the guardians received children from the stork."

"Wait, children?" Tsuna gaped. "Hibari-san! Did you receive a child? From a stork?" Sure, his life could be ridiculous at times, but that was taking a step too far.

"Don't be ridiculous, Sawada Tsunayoshi." Then, just as Tsuna was about to sigh with relief, Hibari added, "I only received a message notifying me about the arrival of a child."

"Well, that's not too surprising." How could Reborn just smile like that? "In the past, the people who have received babies from the stork have all been very strong. The main theory is that the children are formed from the overflow of flames that happens whenever people use their dying will flame, which also explains how they can inherit traits of both parents. As such, any children delivered by the stork are considered blood relations of their parents by the law of Vongola."

"Wait, really?" Tsuna blinked. "I thought mafia was really strict about those things, Vongola especially." As had been seen with Xanxus and his rejection.

"Oh, really. You are proof of that." Reborn smiled in his usual enigmatic fashion. Somehow, it seemed even stranger on a bigger child than it had on a toddler.

"What do you mean, I'm proof of that?" Tsuna frowned. "I'm pretty sure my parents wouldn't have hesitated to tell me if I'd been brought by a stork." Heck, he was somewhat surprised they hadn't told him that anyway.

"Not you personally, no. Your line, though, absolutely." Reborn kicked his feet as though he were discussing something entirely casual and not the highly improbable cause of bird-brought children. "You know Primo went over to Japan and had a family there, right?"

"Of course." He'd heard the story often enough. "What does that have to do with anything?"

"Well, what isn't often mentioned is that his family was with G. Who, for all his other great qualities, obviously wasn't able to give Primo a child." Reborn's smile turned into a grin. "Your line is descended from a child brought to Primo and G by the Vongola Stork Delivery. As the ring accepted you as the heir, you are clear proof that the children are the biological offspring of their parents."

"So the message is true, then." Tsuna silently thanked Hibari for cutting in, since he was absolutely out of responses at this point.

"I would have to see it to be entirely sure, but I believe so, yes. The stork was always a Vongola secret, not divulged even to our closest allies, and even within the core family it has mostly faded to obscurity in the last couple of generations. It's hard to think of anyone who would know about the story and then use it to make up a fake message." Reborn hummed in thought. "Where are you right now?"

"Still in Japan, though I will soon be making my way to Italy, as it happens." Of course Hibari was perfectly calm even now. "If this is true, I would imagine my presence will be required, and if it isn't, I aim to know who exactly is behind all this."

"Sounds like a plan." Reborn nodded. "Should we prepare for your taking some paternity leave, then?"

Hibari snorted. "I do not think I need your permission either way." With that, he ended the call, leaving Tsuna and Reborn both staring at the phone.

"So, ah." Tsuna ran a hand through his hair. "If that message Hibari-san received is true… does that mean there's a child out there somewhere? Hibari-san's child?"

"Not just his, either. I don't know the exact mechanics of the Vongola stork, but from what I have heard the children always have two parents."

"But… that will be a problem, won't it." Because Hibari-san did not have just one partner. "You said it's only for Vongola, right?"

"Right." Reborn turned very serious, now. "There are no recorded cases of the stork visiting anyone outside the family, not even allies."

"Then what about Dino-san?" Because however much he liked Dino, very much considering him his older brother, and however close allies they were with the Cavallone, the fact remained that Cavallone was not Vongola.

"I don't know." Reborn tugged his ever-present hat down to cover his eyes. "I would imagine Dino himself won't care, he's already ignoring all sorts of rules and conventions for those two, but there are still certain expectations of him that he needs to meet as a don."

"Of course." And he already knew there was very little Dino wouldn't have done for his family, just like there was very little he wouldn't have done for Squalo and Hibari-san. Tsuna wasn't going to pretend he understood the mechanics of their relationship, had once imagined it impossible for Hibari-san to be in any sort of a relationship at all, but it seemed to work for the three of them and he would have hated to see that dynamic pitted against Dino's precious family. "What are we going to do?"

"There isn't much we can do, is there?" Reborn tilted his head forward, further obscuring his face. "You can give your support by acknowledging the child as Dino's heir, if it comes down to it, but beyond that it's nothing to do with us."

"Except that's not entirely true, now is it." It still always threw him for a loop whenever he had to act like a boss outside anyone else's guidance or help. "At least, I can inform Dino-san about what exactly is going on."

"It's a Vongola secret, though." The brim of the hat entirely hid Reborn's expression. "We've kept the secret for ten generations."

"And I am now the head of Vongola. If I want to share that secret with an important ally, nobody can tell me no." It felt wrong, arguing with Reborn, but he had to stay firm on this. If he could in any way help Hibari-san and the others be happy, then he would.

"Indeed we can't." Reborn lifted his head, and now he was grinning. "You're right, Tsuna, we should have a talk with Dino. In fact, why don't we go and meet him in person? I do believe there's a standing dinner invitation that you keep putting off, and if we clear out some of the work we could go for a proper family visit to the Cavallone compound tomorrow."

"That sounds like an excellent idea." Tsuna smiled, relieved that Reborn wasn't going to argue with him. "We could go as the entire family, make it less of a serious thing. Haru and Kyouko have both been saying I need to take a break and see my friends outside work." Which was a fair point, seeing how he worked with basically all his friends, so taking the time to meet them in a casual setting was not always a priority.

"And it wouldn't do to make them upset with you, now would it?" Reborn smirked, and by now Tsuna knew the signs of incoming danger. "Of course, to do that, we'll have to take care of some more work tonight so we'll be able to take some time off tomorrow."

Tsuna still didn't throw his phone or anything else at the wall, but he had to admit it was a near thing.

*

"Are you sure it's all right for us all to go over?" Kyouko smoothed the hem of her dress. Tsuna had assured them this wasn't a formal dinner by any means, just a visit between friends, but that didn't mean she didn't want to look nice at least.

"Oh, I'm sure it is." Tsuna smiled even as he leaned over to wipe a smear of chocolate from Lambo's cheek. "I checked with Romario, you know he wouldn't lie about that sort of thing just to be polite, not with us. He said things are a bit messy over there right now, but if we don't mind, he thought it might actually help if we showed up."

"Oh?" Haru frowned, getting that adorable little crease between her brows. "Is something the matter, then?"

"Nothing too bad, I'm sure, or Romario wouldn't have told us to come." Reborn leaned back into his seat, as much of a contradiction as ever between his still small body but very adult-like behaviour. "Let's just say we heard something that hinted Dino might need some support from his little brother very soon."

"Well, if you are sure it's nothing bad." Tsuna at least seemed perfectly calm, which was a good indicator. He was learning to be less transparent about his feelings, but he could never truly conceal his worry if he was concerned for one of his friends, certainly not from them. "So. Are we visiting as Tsuna and family or Don Vongola and family?" Because being dressed casually did not necessarily mean there was nothing official going on, particularly not when Dino was involved. She had seen Tsuna and Dino discuss literal matters of life and death in pyjamas before, she wasn't going to dismiss anything as a possibility just because their visit wasn't strictly formal.

"Tsuna," Tsuna replied, just as Reborn said, "Don Vongola." They glanced at each other before Reborn smirked a bit. "Tsuna, who may have pulled rank on a thing or two."

"You make it sound like I've been ordering people around or something," Tsuna sighed, then smiled at them. "We're only visiting as friends, no official business going on. However, like Reborn mentioned, we have reason to believe Dino might need some friendly support, based on some information I wouldn't have if not for my position."

"That's our Tsuna-san!" Haru beamed. "Always doing his best, both as a boss and a friend!"

"Ah, I do try, I suppose." Tsuna rubbed the back of his neck, looking slightly embarrassed. "Dino's done so much for me and my friends over the years, I need to do what I can to help, you know?"

"But of course." Kyouko smiled. "So, are you going to tell us what's going on?"

"Honestly?" Tsuna gave an embarrassed little laugh. "You probably wouldn't believe me without proof, so I figured we could wait until we see if the information we got was correct. I promise it's nothing bad, though."

"Well, if you are sure about that." Which Kyouko certainly hoped was the case. Haru and she had spent more than enough time over the years making it very clear that they did not appreciate being left in the dark about important things. They both agreed to share Tsuna's less than ordinary life, but only on the condition that they knew what they were getting into.

She was once again reminded of the more peculiar facts of their lives as the car came to a stop and a driver stepped up to open the car door for them, with another car on either side of them. The Cavallone were allies, of course, but visiting the Cavallone compound still meant travelling through mafia territory that was not strictly under Vongola control. Poor Gokudera would have had a conniption if he had even imagined Tsuna and his family doing such a thing without proper security, was already doubtful enough about Tsuna insisting Gokudera didn't have to personally accompany them everywhere when they weren't even on official business. It wasn't what Kyouko had imagined for her future when she had been young, having her each step outside their home shadowed by very attentive, very lethal people, but if that was what it took for Tsuna and his friends not to worry constantly about her and Haru, they were quite happy to go along with it.

Never mind that they were both quite aware of several times when their lives had indeed been in danger. Having security around was a small price to pay for the luxury of remaining a noncombatant in the middle of constant fighting.

The Cavallone compound was a safe location, though, and after a few words with Tsuna their security lingered behind, no doubt planning to spend time with a few of Dino's employees. They visited the place often enough that their usual security detail had managed to form rather sweet friendships with some of the Cavallone guards. Not that they were unattended for long, with the familiar face of Ivan waiting for them right at the front entrance.

Even after years of knowing them, Kyouko could practically see the poor man's head going over all the appropriate titles and names he could have recited, only to settle for the simple, "Good afternoon," in the end. Tsuna, of course, smiled at this; though he had grown more used to his position over the years, he did sometimes sigh about how awkward it felt to have people he had known for ages treating him like he was someone special just because of his title.

"Good afternoon, Ivan. I believe Romario should be aware that we are here."

"Yes, he sent me to welcome you. I'm under instructions to take you right over to Boss."

"Well, lead the way." Tsuna gave his arms out to Kyouko and Haru, who took one each, leaving Lambo and Reborn to trail after them and Ivan.

Kyouko could have been just imagining it, but she could have sworn things were even busier than usual on the Cavallone compound, with people rushing to and fro as they walked down the corridors. Of course, it might have just been an illusion caused by the comparison with the Vongola headquarters. The mansion she had come to call home was certainly busy, but the Vongola headquarters did not have nearly as many people living there full time as the main Cavallone compound did. With more people moving around, of course the place would seem busier than what she was used to.

Then they reached the part of the compound that Dino held as his personal quarters, and any doubt that this might have been an illusion fled from her mind immediately. She had never seen so many people rushing about Dino's private quarters, and they had certainly visited often enough for her to have a fairly good understanding of what passed for ordinary around here.

"Romario!" Tsuna spotted the familiar form of Dino's right-hand man as soon as they stepped in, before Kyouko had actually taken in more than the fact that there were people walking around carrying all sorts of things. "Where's Dino-san?"

"Ah, Tsuna-kun." Romario nodded at them, gaining another smile from Tsuna with his fairly casual form of address. "Boss and Squalo are in the bedroom. Dinner should be ready soon enough."

"In the bedroom?" Haru squeaked, rather echoing Kyouko's own feelings on the matter. Romario, though, blinked in surprise, then chuckled.

"Oh, nothing like that! They asked me to take you there when you get here. They're simply staying out of the way for the time being." Romario beckoned them to follow, expertly moving between all the hurrying people.

"It does seem unusually busy here." Kyouko sidestepped to get out of the way of someone rushing past with what seemed like parts of furniture. "Is something special going on?"

Now, Romario's smile widened into a grin, which was probably a good sign. "Oh, absolutely, but I think I'll let the Boss tell you more about that."

Kyouko was rather puzzled for a moment, but things cleared up the moment they got into the bedroom. Dino and Squalo were both seated on the edge of the large bed, looking rather out of sorts. What really caught everyone's attention, though, was the small thing cradled in Squalo's arms.

Haru squeaked again, but with delight instead of embarrassment this time. "Is that a baby?!" she gasped, her eyes practically glowing with glee. Kyouko found herself holding her breath as well, hardly daring to believe the sight in front of her.

"Tsuna! Everyone!" Dino gave them a tired but bright smile as he looked up at the sound of their arrival. "You'll never guess what happened!"

"Actually, I think I just might guess." Tsuna chuckled, and really, he had kept this secret from them? That was just horrible. "Hibari-san called me yesterday and asked about the message he had received."

"Ah, of course he would have gotten a message as well." Dino grinned, running a hand through his hair. "I always thought the Vongola Stork Delivery was just some silly old myth. Imagine my surprise when I actually got a delivery notice from them, and then Squalo showed up with the baby!"

"Wait." Reborn stepped forward now, a frown on his little face. "You mean you knew about the stork? It's supposed to be a Vongola secret!"

"No disrespect meant, Reborn, but Vongola aren't the only ones with secrets." Dino's grin softened into a smile. "As for how I know this particular one… you could say it's part of my heritage as well."

"Your heritage?" Tsuna blinked. "You mean… someone in your line was brought by the Vongola Stork Delivery?"

"Exactly." Dino nodded. "It's not exactly something we announce to everyone, but Cavallone Primo never took a wife."

"From what I've been told, though, the stork has only ever visited actual Vongola members." Reborn crossed his arms over his chest. "No matter how close allies they might have been, I can't imagine there would have been an exception made for Cavallone Primo."

"Except here we have another exception, for much the same reason." Dino smiled, reaching a hand to touch the baby's hair. It was a soft golden colour, Kyouko noted. "He never took a wife. That doesn't mean he was alone."

Squalo snorted, and while he looked rather tired, there was a hint of a smile on his lips. "What he means, by the way, is that he's apparently not the first Cavallone boss to seduce a Vongola cloud."

Reborn blinked, but then smiled. "Alaude and the first Cavallone, hm? I'd heard rumours, but I wasn't sure if those were true."

"According to the stories passed down the Cavallone line, they absolutely are. And I would imagine we wouldn't have passed down a story of our founder loving a man if it wasn't true." Dino shrugged. "The details are not widely known among our family, either, but the important people know enough."

"I did wonder why your consiglieri were always so accepting of your relationship." Tsuna seemed relaxed now, which was definitely a good thing. "I suppose if there was already family history of a don having a blood heir despite being in love with a man, that would make things easier to accept."

"And there are already provisions for such in the family bylaws." Squalo shook his head. "I was expecting chaos when I brought the baby over, because no way was I going to have her in the Varia mansion any longer than I had to. I didn't expect it to be because Dino was in full nesting mode and Romario was already organising the the construction of the nursery."

"To be fair, I suspect Romario has been waiting for this for a long time." Dino sent an accusing glance Romario's way, though he didn't seem very angry at all. "At least, he seemed to have a plan ready the moment I told him we would need somewhere to put the baby."

"I will neither confirm nor deny that," Romario replied, completely failing to look guilty at all. "Thought I will admit I figured a while ago that the old office space would be a good place to convert into a nursery."

"Oh, is that why everyone is rushing around?" Kyouko smiled. "They're getting everything ready for the baby?"

"Exactly. She slept with us last night, but that's hardly a long-term solution." Squalo glanced at Tsuna. "So since you are here and not very surprised, I'm assuming Kyouya got a note like the one Dino did?"

"Yes. He called us to ask if this was true." Tsuna frowned. "He hasn't called you, then?"

"I suppose Kyouya figured it wouldn't be necessary since he had called you." Dino smiled a bit. "That's not at all unusual for Kyouya. You know how he dislikes informing people of his movements, even when it might be necessary."

"Is the baby a boy or a girl?" Lambo had apparently grown tired of the adults talking, sneaking closer to get a look at the baby. Squalo held her closer to his chest for a moment before relaxing slightly, letting Lambo get a proper look at her. "Is she supposed to be that small?"

"She's a girl, and apparently she's a normal size for a newborn baby." Squalo snorted, shifting the baby in his arms. "She's not usually this quiet, but I suppose she screamed herself to sleep at last. Those seem to be her two favourite activities."

"She certainly takes after you and Kyouya in that regard." Dino chuckled. "It's rather endearing."

"Well, she's certainly adorable." Haru's eyes were still shining, and Kyouko couldn't help but feel warm inside at the sight. "May I hold her? Please?"

"If she wakes up while you're holding her, you're responsible for getting her back to sleep." Squalo very carefully moved the baby into Haru's arms. "And if you drop her, I'll fucking kill you."

"Duly noted." It probably said a lot about their lives that Haru didn't seem fazed at all by the crude threat, smiling down at the baby. "Do you have a name for her yet?"

"We were thinking Alessa." Dino grinned, leaning closer to Squalo. "We'll have to check with Kyouya before making it entirely official, though."

"To be fair, there's a lot of shit we need to wait for Kyouya's opinion on," Squalo added. "I never knew there's so much to decide about a baby before Lussuria dropped this one in my arms. I figured all they needed were diapers and milk, but all of a sudden people are asking about colours and names and sleeping choices and a thousand other things that really don't matter as long as the kid doesn't have anything to scream about. But, knowing Kyouya, he probably has opinions prepared on every last detail just for the sake of being contrary."

"Oh, you're being far too harsh." Haru smiled down at the baby. Judging by the look on Tsuna's face, he was as close to melting at the sight as Kyouko herself was. "From our talks when Adelheid-san's baby had just been born, his thoughts about these things are actually really well considered."

"Wait, you've been talking with Hibari-san?" Tsuna asked, just as Dino asked, "You and Kyouya have talked about babies?"

"Well, we happened to both be visiting Adelheid-san to see her baby, so it came up rather naturally at the time." Haru brushed her fingertips against the baby's cheek, and Kyouko had never seen her smile in such an adorable way. "It was a very interesting conversation. I never expected Hibari-san to have even thought of babies, but he actually had some very good thoughts on how to balance childcare with mafia life and other such things."

"Well, I suppose it makes sense in the end," Reborn chuckled. "He has always had a liking for small animals, after all."

"I sure hope that's true," Dino said, very serious all of a sudden. "If it turns out he hates babies, we'll have a problem in our hands."

"He didn't sound upset at all when he called us, at least," Tsuna assured him. "I mean, he didn't say anything either way, but it sounded like his only concern was whether it was true or not."

Squalo groaned, flopping back on the bed. "I was doing my best not to worry about that yet," he complained. "I doubt the storks offer refunds anyway."

"Oh, please. Like you could let go of something this adorable anyway." Haru smiled brilliantly. "Why, if I didn't know you would come after me, I would steal her away myself!"

"Ah, probably best not to do that," Tsuna said with an awkward little chuckle. "It would be quite difficult to care for a baby in the middle of a war with both the Varia and Cavallone."

"Oh, please." Squalo snorted. "Like you would make it even out the door alive."

All this really should have been disturbing, yet somehow, Kyouko found herself laughing with her friends as they joked about war and death. Though then, after seeing the reality of it more than once, mere jokes did not affect her too much.

They soon got to dinner proper, which was a good thing considering Lambo was getting bored, and a bored Lambo tended to lead to all sorts of mischief. Dino and Squalo seemed hesitant to leave the baby sleeping, though, only agreeing to it when Romario assured them he would personally look after her. It was absolutely adorable, and really helped Kyouko feel confident that they would be just fine, even with their little surprise.

In the end, it was Lambo who raised the inevitable question, on the car back to the Vongola headquarters. "Hey, Tsuna?" he said, blinking sleepily. He might not have been a little boy anymore, but he was still young enough to get sleepy after a late dinner.

"Yes, Lambo?" Tsuna smiled, patient as always.

"When are you and Kyouko and Haru going to have a baby?"

Tsuna spluttered at that, trying to stumble for an answer in his flustered state. Haru and Kyouko, however, simply glanced at each other and smiled.

"You know, Tsu-kun," Kyouko said, "I think that is an excellent question."

And, after seeing the smile on Haru's face today, one she really wanted answered.

*

"I," announced Squalo, falling down on the bed and lying there, "am absolutely exhausted."

"Same here." Dino dropped down next to him. "Don't get me wrong, I was really happy to see Tsuna and everyone, but it has been a long day."

"Oh, you shut up." Squalo snorted, though there wasn't a whole lot of venom behind his voice. "Everyone knows you love being around people. That's not going to tire you out."

"It does when I still have to do all my boss things and supervise the renovations and take care of the baby." Dino rolled closer to press a kiss to Squalo's temple. Considering he didn't even get nudged for it, Squalo had to be even more tired than he looked. "I'm just glad Romario is so efficient. I could have never imagined they could get the nursery together in a single day."

"Yes, that was pretty impressive." Squalo sighed, running a hand through his hair. "And still no news from Kyouya." It wasn't really a question.

"Nothing yet, no." Dino sighed as well. "Tsuna did say he had things to take care of before coming over. It's not like he could just drop everything and fly over."

"I dropped everything and came over." And he would definitely hear about that later, probably in quite the frightening volume if he knew his boss at all, but right now Xanxus's ire was not his main concern. He had enough vacation days saved up to take off the rest of the year and probably the couple of next years if he wanted, and if this didn't count as an emergency, nothing did.

"Yes, well, you kind of had your hands full, though. Kyouya knows he can trust us to take care of her."

"I wonder." Squalo sounded like he actually wondered about that. That didn't bode well, certainly not when combined with the look on his face.

"What's wrong, Squalo?" Dino didn't move closer, but then he was already close enough that his breath moved a couple of silvery strands next to Squalo's face. "And don't try to tell me it's nothing. I'm not going to believe you anyway."

"Just… I didn't exactly have the best example of how to be a dad," Squalo sighed. "And I know damn well Kyouya didn't. How the fuck are we supposed to know what to do?"

"We'll figure it out together." This deserved another kiss, Dino decided. "And you know why? Because I've only known her for a day and you not much longer, but we already love her with all our hearts. And I know that when Kyouya finally makes it over here, he's going to love her even more. We're going to be great fathers and take good care of her, and you have nothing to worry about."

"Except the fact she'll be one of the most sought after targets in the entire mafia world, between all the enemies the three of us have gathered over the years."

That… was a good point, Dino had to admit it, but it wasn't one he particularly cared to dwell on just yet. "We'll cross that bridge when we come to it. Right now, she's safe and sound, protected by the entire might of Cavallone and the two of us besides." He chuckled. "Besides, if she takes after you or Kyouya at all, she'll probably be the most dangerous person in the mafia before she's out of diapers."

Squalo managed a faint smirk at that. "Suddenly I'm very glad the terrible twos are still a while ahead."

Dino was going to agree, except just then the baby monitor crackled to life. The sound of little Alessa crying wrenched Dino out of his sleepy state, and he pushed himself up to sit on the bed, groaning as he did so. "What is it now? We just got her down."

"She should still be sleeping most of the time," Squalo murmured, yawning as he managed to get on his feet just before Dino. "So, I'm going to be blaming you for all this unnecessary noise."

Dino lifted his eyebrows. "I can't believe you're saying I'm the one she takes after when she's noisy."

"Well, who else is it going to be?" Squalo smirked, showing an awful lot of teeth. "You know damn well Kyouya likes his naps."

"Yes, but he also wakes up from the slightest sound." Never mind that they both knew Kyouya was not the one he had been referring to. "Anyway, we should —"

There were shuffling sounds coming from the monitor, before the crying stopped abruptly. Dino and Squalo glanced at each other, then rushed out of the room at once. For all that there had been people running in and out all day, at this time of night there was nobody supposed to be there besides them, even the guards were to stay outside the private quarters unless there was an emergency, nobody should have been —

Dino threw the door to the nursery open, heart running like a frightened horse, only to see a sight so heartwarming, he was quite sure he was going to choke. Lit by the soft glow of a night light, Kyouya stood in the middle of the room, cradling the little baby in his arms. Hibird was sitting at his shoulder, looking curiously down at the new addition.

"Quiet," Kyouya murmured as they came in, glancing up at them only for a moment before returning his gaze to the baby. "Don't you dare startle her again."

"Kyouya," Squalo breathed, sounding as relieved as Dino felt. "We thought — fuck, we thought —"

"Oh, don't worry. The guards are doing their job quite well for once, they even noticed me coming in. Which is good, considering their increased responsibilities." Kyouya tilted his head to get his head at the same angle as the baby. "She's a pretty little one, isn't she? Well, I'm assuming it's a she, considering someone put her in pink clothes."

"She really is." Dino smiled. "So… you're not upset, then?"

"Oh, please." Kyouya snorted. "If I was upset, do you think I would be here?" Which was a very good point, and one Dino was quite glad hadn't occurred to him before, or he would have worried even more.

"One never knows with you." Despite his defiant words, though, Squalo was visibly relaxed, the way he only really got around the two of them. "You might have decided to come all the way here just to tell us you're bailing."

"And leave the two of you alone with her? That would be utterly irresponsible of me." Kyouya shook his head, though from the slight twist of his lips Dino knew he was just teasing them. Well, mostly. "We need to decide on a name, by the way. I already had a little talk with some officials back in Namimori so that we can get her a proper birth certificate over there if you can't convince the local ones to put all three of us on the document."

Squalo barked out a laugh. "Why am I not even surprised that you would screw around even with that?"

"I am merely doing my best to give our daughter the best possible start in life." There was a smile on Kyouya's face as he looked down at her, an actual smile, the sort that he rarely showed even to Squalo and Dino. "Isn't that what fathers do?"

"Yes," Dino said, and despite his tiredness he smiled brightly. "Yes, that is exactly what we are going to do." Not that it was going to be easy, of course, he had no delusions about that, but between them they were going to work it out.

At least they would have a much easier time than most parents when she got old enough to ask where she had come from.


End file.
